knew you were trouble [Kendall]

Vanderbilt's approach did not go unnoticed by Marlie. She'd spent long enough time with him (unwillingly and accidentally, she might add) to know how he walked, recognize his voice, and how he carried himself about. "Hey, Mar."
She forced a little smile in his direction, opening her mouth to respond. She was interrupted, however, by his suspicious words. Her slight smile was mirrored on his face, and his gaze seemed almost taunting, begging her to give into her crimes. Marlie almost caved in, told him everything she had in mind, but she stopped herself. What are you doing? He is in no way charming, or persuasive, or anything! Straightening her posture, she let out an offended gasp. "I would do no such thing! How dare you accuse me of something like this, Rex Vanderbilt!"

[ooc] This post was rather rushed. [/ooc]

Marlie took a moment to consider Rex's words. He had really noticed her facial expressions? She really needed to work on masking her emotions. She didn't appear to note the fact that he had come to this conclusion by watching her.
She jerked her head away, hoping to hit Rex in the face with her long, tangled hair. "I have not the slightest clue what you're blabbering about. I'm not plotting against your sisters. Now, what's the real reason you came here? Other than to scold me, of course. What is out of the ordinary here, Vanderbilt?"
She crossed her arms, tapping her bare foot and rolling her eyes. Her shoulders were aching, tensing up, and she tried her best to relax her nerves. It wasn't like she actually cared about how Rex felt about her... he was just the boy next door. But technically he lived down the street and not next door. Five houses down, to be exact.
Marlie found herself facing Rex again, sitting on the cold stone and wincing at the sharp pain in her rear. Her mind felt like it was caving in, and her heart was speeding up. A shiver danced down her spine, and her face turned a pale shade of rose. Why was she so self-conscious all the sudden? She was Marlie Cawilra, known in school as a daredevil, a vicious rebel. She didn't care what others thought. But suddenly Rex's opinion mattered to her, and she pulled her jacket tighter around herself.
"Go ahead. Speak."

Marlie merely laughed, the faint blush fading away. "There's a fine line between breaking rules and breaking the law, Rex. Maybe you should learn the difference, am I right?" she smirked, standing up and dusting off her pants. "I'm sure your sisters will be fine alone for a little while. You have no need to worry about me bothering them; I'm coming with you, anyways. Let's go."
She grabbed his arm, allowing her cold, clammy fingers to dance against his wrist. "You have to live a little on the edge, Vanderbilt. What are you going to do, pray tell, if you get reaped? Will you play nice and follow the rules of the Hunger Games? There are no rules. Remember that. Watch everything you know go flying out the window, sir, because I'm about to show you the dark side." She grinned sadistically, tying her hair into a messy bun with her free hand. She then proceeded to try and pull Rex down the street, eyes sparkling as she developed another plan.
Prepare to open your eyes! Eventually Marlie realized that her hand had slipped into his, and his hand was warm and a little sweaty. Blushing all over again, Marlie looked away from him. "We should stir up just a bit of trouble. Not too serious, just a little fun."

"I'd rather not. I know the difference! There isn't one."
Marlie nodded absently. She had heard Rex's protests far too long to actually listen to them. All she heard now was a faint buzzing. He was protesting that the Hunger Games was another deal, making Marlie snort a bit. "We should call it Marlie's side instead of the dark side."
Now that made Marlie smirk. How flattering of you, Rex.
"Marlie..."
Rex's sudden warning tone made her frown a bit. He sounded rather displeased with her, and she wondered what she did wrong. She was still holding his hand, grip tightening like a vice, and she had to force herself to drop her hand to her side. "What'd I do? I haven't done anything yet. You should just be glad I didn't pin the blame on you for that little incident at school last week. The teacher's still mad at me," Marlie snapped. She prepared herself to spit out a few choice words, but for some reason stopped herself. Swearing wouldn't help anything. It would only make Rex more upset with her. Normally Marlie would love to see Rex cringe in her presence, but now messing with him seemed wrong.
Taking a deep breath and playing with her hair, Marlie began speaking again. "Listen, Rex... I'm sorry. Causing trouble is just in my nature. But obviously it's not in yours, so I shouldn't be dragging you along with me as an accomplice, or even an eyewitness. How about for a change... we do what you want to do?" she murmured. They were hard words to say. She bit her lip, holding shaky eye contact with the taller boy. "Consider it a... limited time offer. You don't need to visit Marlie's side anymore. Until the reaping."
Marlie offered Rex her hand again, corners of her mouth turning up slightly. This time things wouldn't be awkward.
Hopefully.

When Rex took her hand, Marlie did the unexpected. She lifted it to her lips and gently kissed the warm skin. "So I suppose we have a deal, do we not?" she whispered. "Don't get so eager. We'll start tomorrow. We'll meet early in the morning. Unless you're afraid I'll pull something on you."
With that being said, she took off into the distance, smirking all the way home.

The ground was shifting under her feet, and her surroundings were spinning wildly around her. Things were just beginning to fall apart, and debris was scattered all around. Her hair was tame for once, tied in an elaborate braid. Loose strands brushed against her face, guided by the gentle touch of the wind. The land before her was barren, unfamiliar. Everything was moving in slow motion, splashed with chromatic colors. The sparkling horn in the center of the land was now a dull, unforgiving gray. Marlie was numb, her fingers reaching out desperately towards the Cornucopia.

Thunder rumbled in the distance. The wind was picking up. The pedestal underneath her feet was no longer rising, and instead felt like it was sinking. She was frozen in place, staring at the faceless tributes all around her. They all wanted her blood; their body language made it obvious. They were all poised to attack, turned towards her. Marlie blinked, rubbing her eyes. The illusion was gone. The gray sun was vanishing, and the second a lightning bolt struck the ground in front of her, the arena fell into chaos.

Hellfire was raining down, setting the dry land ablaze. The arena was heating up, and a thin layer of sweat was forming on Marlie's face. Though she had stuffed her face nonstop this morning, her stomach still felt hollow. That was the fear kicking in, sending her whole body and mind going up in flames. Wringing her hands, Marlie waited for the gong to sound. The closer she was to the Bloodbath, the closer she was to going home.

The Capitol had been despicable. She was forced to wave at the cameras, keep the audience intrigued, and flaunt herself in such a manner that would make her family ashamed. She was forced to giggle. She hated giggling. People would think of her as innocent, or sweet. She was neither of those things. She was daring and contrary, the one that a lot of kids at school feared. There was no use in trying to lie her way to victory; the arena killed all the angles shown in the interviews. The sexy girl always became a vicious beast. That was typical of the Games. Why flirt, play, and plot with others when in the end, only one person made it out in one piece? And from last year, in William and Elodie's case - why have sex?

Why should it matter who made it out in one piece?

The winner would be determined long before the reapings.

The fate of all tributes was served on a silver platter.

There would always be leftovers, always the lucky ones who didn't get chewed up and spit out.

I won this game before it even started.

Her breath became labored.

Her muscles tensed.

Marlie ran.
Now the wall of fire rained down on her, consuming her in its burning oblivion. Her fellow tributes were all streaking into the distance, leaving the Cornucopia behind. All the supplies were there, ready to be claimed. Something was wrong here. The Games were not meant to be easy. They were meant to produce terror. She skidded to a stop, dropping to her knees.
Now that she was here, she wanted to be out. Every tribute knew that the Cornucopia was a gateway; to your death, or to your freedom. Marlie glanced around. Everyone was gone. Suddenly a knife appeared in her hands, and fresh, sticky blood spilled over her palms. Screaming, she dropped the blade and stumbled back.
The terrain vanished beneath her, and she was suddenly falling, flailing like a fish out of water. Within minutes it was over, without her hitting the ground. Even when her nightmare ended, she still felt like gravity wanted to swallow her up in a black hole. Her underclothes were sticky from sweat, and her armpits were soaked and smelly. Ick.
Marlie sat up, running her fingers through her hair and staring blankly at the wall. This was the only dream she could truly remember; it wasn't just a random awakening in the dead of night. It was a sign, a sign that she should be more afraid than she already was. She hugged her knees close to her chest, breathing heavily. She was no longer being burned alive by the flame; now she was freezing, shivering in her underwear. Eventually she dragged her traumatized self out of bed and stumbled over to her closet.
The closet was cramped, a space that wasn't big enough for her, let alone her clothes. There was a pile of dirty clothes accumulating on the floor, and Marlie had to cling to the walls to keep from tripping. Eventually she found some decent clothes to wear; not like the tight clothes she always wore, with the stitches coming out. Carrying her clothes into the bathroom and exchanging her dirty undergarments for clean ones, Marlie sat on the edge of the bathtub. She fought to get the white t-shirt over her head, and squeezed into the jeans so uncomfortably that it seemed they did not belong to her. Taking the time to fix her hair into a ponytail, Marlie stared into the stained mirror. Her big blue eyes were almost alien-like now. She splashed water in her face, trying to get the dark bags under her eyes to fade. She was meeting Rex early today. One thing Rex didn't know about Marlie was of her parasomnia; teeth grinding, acting out, and confusional arousals. It was a little odd for someone to be going through this in District 3; there wasn't anything to fear here but the Peacekeepers.
Thrusting her hands in her pockets and walking outside, Marlie stared at her bare feet. It was almost unhuman to be walking around without shoes when she had perfectly good shoes to wear. Calmly, she stepped into her large rubber boots, toes wiggling in the empty space. Marlie missed these shoes, though she would never admit it. She looked out into the distance, waiting for Rex's signature smile to light up the dreary day. The moment the corners of his mouth turned up, she would want to confess everything. Her problems, her deepest fears... her feelings. But she would bite her tongue, and she would wait.
Rex doesn't need to know just yet.
Especially since she hated talking about her feelings.